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Sharpen up that memory of yours while learning about the male and female pairs of 25 species of birds from around the world. This memory game has bird illustrations by Christine Berrie; get it as a gift for a bird lover or add it to your family’s board game stash. In any moment of boredom, pull the box out, scatter the cards upside down, and see who can remember and collect the most pairs. It’s an easy, simple game for all ages.
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Look a little closer at these cards and you’ll see Susan Kare’s original artwork for the Windows 3.0 Solitaire game. Did you know that the original Solitaire computer game is now 25 years old? Sheesh. So, you can now celebrate the computer game’s anniversary by playing with physical cards that look like the computer version. Kind of fun, huh?
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Magnetic building blocks, anyone? Pretend you’re an architect with very colorful aspirations as you play with these magnetic cardboard pieces. Place them on the fridge or on any other magnetic surface to remind your brain to take a quick break. Who knows, maybe rearranging the pieces into odd shapes and patterns will inspire you to think differently. Oh, and do I need to point out this could be a fun-yet-simple gift idea?
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There’s something about lazy summer afternoons that demands a stack of playing cards nearby. And, should you be short a stack, please do take a look at these colorful cards from Fredericks & Mae, as they have a sunny disposition with their full display of the color spectrum. You’ll find a nicely contrasting black and white pattern on their backs. The pack includes a mini booklet with history and lore, along with game instruction.
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When the summer laziness hits you, you’d better take a break and do something different. Like, say, play with some three-pronged blocks. Many grownups see blocks as a toy meant purely for the playroom, but others know a pile of wooden blocks can be just as useful on a desk or in an office break room. So, buy a set for yourself or buy a set for some little ones, either way, be sure to roll up your sleeves and join in with stacking/arranging something different (it might just give your brain a rest, or at least some creative freedom).
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One deck of Minim Playing Cards is good to have, but two decks are even better. Make the second the all black version, which has the same simple geometric symbols (all reductive variants of the original hearts, clubs, diamonds and spades) as the original white deck. Let’s hope the color variations continue, as sometimes you need several decks to play a game- my vote for the next color option is dark blue, or maybe red?
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Test your grasp of gradient color with this puzzle by Bryce Wilner. And don’t turn your nose up at the thought of spending time on a puzzle. It will most likely force you to slow down and consider each piece to find its proper spot, and maybe even relax a little. You’ll get bonus points if you turn off all your devices and just concentrate on putting one section together. Those texts and tweets can wait.
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Kids. Birthday parties. Blah. What the hell are you going to get for your favorite (or non-favorite) little one this year? How about a slightly strange stuffed animal with magnetic, interchangeable horns, ears, noses, and paws?
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Okay, quick, which states have these abbreviations? MD? IA? MT? NE? VT? It may seem easy, but some people don’t have the same memory as you, and might need these United States Blocks to learn them all. Obviously, kids could learn from these, but I’m talking about some of your co-workers. Fifty wood blocks by House Industries show state images, names, capitals, mottos, birds, flowers, and trees. Everyone could probably stand a refresher, as it doesn’t hurt to keep the mind sharp with civics data, right?
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What to do when an uncomfortable lull sets in amongst a friendly/family gathering? Pull out the cards, of course. And, seeing as not everyone knows that complicated card game that everybody else and their aunt plays every Thursday, why not mix it up with a color card game called Spectrix? It’s a play on the card game Rummy, just extremely simplified- it’s based on groups of color matches and sequences. No need to read suits or numbers, so it’s appropriate for all ages. Just build strategic groups of color to play out your hand. Easy, right?
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Your excellent memory might recall us linking to the Ototo meets ECAL workshop, and, if your interest was piqued, you’ll be ecstatic to know the Ototo Musical Invention Kit is now available from the MoMA Store. Once it arrives on your doorstep, you’ll be able to make music from anything. Connect conductive objects to the keys and voilà! you’ll be an electronic sound maestro in no time- no coding or programming knowledge needed. Plants, forks, fruits, or whatever else you’ve got lying around becomes your orchestra. So fun I can hardly stand it.
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A game that looks like a tabletop sculpture? Sure, why not? Logifaces is a set of 16 prisms, hand-poured from concrete. Each piece has different angles on its top, and your challenge is to place the prisms next to each other to form a continuous surface. Choose between marble white, basalt grey, or charcoal black; $60 gets you the early bird 16-piece set. Adding this to your gifts-to-give list is a no-brainer.
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This is so ridiculous it’s wonderful. The EYEteleporter is a mask that displaces your eyesight. Put it on and you’ll either see the view point of your belly, above your head, or above your head, backwards, and upside down. Those three modes will hopefully insert a little bit of fun into your day at the office, as long as your coworkers don’t mind you wearing a large, cardboard, telescope-like contraption. Yes, you’ll look weird, but at least you’ll have fun.
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Pétanque, Bocce, Boule, whatever you decide to call it, any variation is a great lawn game for these last few days of summer. Six chrome boule balls and a target ball are all packaged in a teak box for storing and carrying the game. And what do you do? Throw the small target ball out into the lawn, then take turns trying to get your chrome boule/bocce balls closest to the target. That’s a simplified version, of course, and I’m sure there’s several fanatics that have steam coming out of their ears for my lack of specificity as to the rules, but the point is you’ve got to try it out at your next outdoor gathering, preferably with this nice Akiko Petanque Bocce Game Set.
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Now you know what to get me for my next birthday present. Or, if you know someone else that appreciates modern photography, there’s a good chance they’ll like this Alex Prager Crowd #10 Puzzle. Alex Prager, if you’re not familiar with the name, is a self-taught artist who uses staged sets and models to create melodramatic, “film-like images”. Her prints on artnet have ‘price on request’ notations, and you’d be safe to assume that they’d cost hundreds of times more than a $75 puzzle.
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